It’s another chilly morning, the cold seems to be getting worse by the day. Though cold, the sky is as blue as can be, with not a cloud in the sky. Next to me is a small stream, adding a certain tranquility that life in the city just cannot match.

We've been traveling through the woods for about a day now. Nothing too interesting has happened thus far, but Uncle Moren says we’ll be getting into more dangerous territory pretty soon. For me though, this trip has been great and horrible in parts.

The best part about being in the woods is, well, being in the woods. I’ve always felt an attraction towards the serene calm only found in land untouched by man, and this trip has doubled my appreciation for peace and quiet.

Also training this deep in the woods gives me satisfaction like no other.

Now when it comes to the bad parts…

“Alright Rowan my boy! Time to move!” Uncle Moren says as he picks me up like a potato sack and runs at speeds I can’t yet comprehend.

“Ugh! Do I really need to be carried around like this every time? Can’t we just, I don’t know, take our time or something?”

“No can do! We need to get moving as fast as possible! In the mean time, practice what I told you about last night. Too many high ranking talents like yourself get a high evaluation early and then dropping a few ranks because they got careless.”

I think about the talk Uncle Moren and I had last night after a day of traveling.

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“So how do I progress my cultivation from here?” I ask Uncle Moren excitedly.

“Well you need to strengthen your fundamentals and understanding of your core before you even think of attempting to aspect it.”

“Ok obviously, what’s involved in that process and what I can do to prepare for it.” I say while rolling my eyes.

“Well, I suppose telling you won’t hurt too much, but be careful. Seriously Rowan, if your try this too early, you may permanently damage your core.”

I nod seriously.

He sighs before continuing,

“Ok, well a good first step is at least establishing which element you resonate the most with. This is done with, you guessed it, more self-reflection. The most important thing to remember is to categorize your personality as objectively as possible. Only by being true to yourself, can you reveal the element that matches you most.”

He checks to make sure that I’m listening before once again continuing,

“Now in terms of the process itself, it’s actually more simple than forming your core was. We just need to buy an aspecting stone for this part, as the process this time is more physical than anything else. It’s essentially physically forming your core in our plane, rather than the spirit plane. The reason we aspect our cores while doing this is because in order to complete that transition, the spiritual energy needs an element to latch onto. You get all that.”

“I think so, but if its that simple why doesn’t everyone already have an aspect and a core?” I ask curiously.

“Ah you’d think so right? Well the issue lies in the sheer amount of pain that comes during the process. It’s said to be quite possibly the worst pain imaginable, being painful both physically and spiritually. About 30 percent of people die from shock alone, and another 20 percent fail the process and can never undergo it again. Not to mention the price of an attribute stone can buy you a small house in the city.” He says seriously.

“Well what about all those people at Wayland’s party? How did all those rich people already have an aspect?”

“Most of those guys actually didn’t have an aspect, and instead only displayed the color of the element they think the resonate with. It’s sort of taboo subject in high circles to ask someone if they have aspected their core, as a good amount of high-society people have not, or will never.”

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“I see…” I say considering this new information.

“Anyway, get some sleep. I wanna be on the move early, and I’m sure you’ll want some time to train in the morning.” He says heading inside his tent.

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‘Hmm, element, element, element… What is my element…’ I ponder while getting carried by Uncle Rowan.

‘Fire? Nah, I’m not exactly hot-headed, or passionate for anything, besides swords of course.’

‘Water maybe? Hmm, that one doesn’t sound as bad as fire but I don’t know, I feel like I’m not calm enough for water.’

‘Maybe something a little more abstract. Space? What type of characteristics does space even represent? Vastness? Nothing? How do space attuned people even figure out that they’re meant to be space attuned?’

‘Ugh so many questions.’ I groan mentally.

“Hey Uncle Moren.”

“What’s up Rowan my boy!” He says while continuing to carry me through the vast forest.

“What would you say some defining characteristic of mine would be?”

“Hahahaha, sorry my boy! No can do! The more input I give, the worse off you’ll be. I will say this though, an element’s characteristic are only how you perceive them and your own understanding of them.”

“Uh huh, maybe in a bit more English?”

“You know as well as I do the system translates everything perfectly, even if I weren’t speaking English!” He chuckles.

I roll my eyes as I begin to think about the implications of what he said.

Before I can think too deeply, though, we suddenly stop. I look up to see Gael and Garut standing in front of us.

“What’s up fellas, what’d you find?” Uncle Moren asks.

“Small horde of goblins ahead, tiers 1-4.”

Uncle Moren responds to this news with a large grin.

“Well isn’t this perfect! Rowan your up!”

I look at Uncle Moren incredulously,

“You don’t expect me to deal with tier 4’s do you?”

“No no, of course not, we’ll be next to you and keep away anything higher than tier 1. Though, we might make you fight one or two tier 2’s just to see how you match up.” He says placatingly.

“Ok fine, how are we doing this?” I ask.

“Oh no, we’re not doing anything but defending you from stuff you can’t handle. That includes plans. You gotta deal with this your own way.” Uncle Moren says.

“Gotta keep your critical thinking skills sharp!” Gael says while grinning.

“Not a problem, in fact, even better! Though I’ll be taking my time a bit, so be prepared to hunker down for the next few days.”

They all nod approvingly.

“So how many tier 1’s we talking? Fifty? A hundred?” I ask confidently.

“Five-hundred.” Garut says smirking slightly.

“… ok maybe be prepared to hunker down for a few more days on top of that.” I say slightly depressed.

After a few seconds of deliberation, I suddenly remember a question I had for everyone here.

“Hey guys, I was wondering what element your core is aspected to?” I ask eagerly.

Both Gael and Garut are slightly surprised at this question.

“Now now young man, don’t you think it’s a bit early to be thinking about that? I mean you just formed your core less than week ago. The young these days, always so eager to ruin their bright future…” Gael shakes his head disappointingly.

“No no no, you misunderstand, I’m not going to try anything for a long while. I’m just trying to think about which element I resonate the most with.”

“Ah I see, if its just that then I suppose it’s fine. My element is mist. I found my self attracted to it’s mystical nature, and unknown horrors that lay within it’s grasp.”

“I see…” I think about his response before turning to Garut and asking, “What about you Garut?”

Garut stares at me for a good five second before finally responding before things got too awkward.

“Blood. I pump blood, I spill blood, I am blood.” He says stoically, like he just said the most profound thing in the world.

“Oh wow very nice.” I say nervously.

‘Yup definitely a psychopath.’ I think to myself.

Lastly I turn to Uncle Moren and ask,

“What about you Uncle Moren? What element do you resonate with?”

“Oh I don’t know, it’s a bit embarrassing…” He says while rubbing the back of his head.

“Come on! Now you gotta tell me!” I say eagerly.

“Alright, it’s sight. My element is sight.”

“Sight? Not really a traditional element wouldn’t you say? I’ve never heard of someone with a sight element before.”

“Well yeah it’s not a traditional element, in THIS plane that is. The abyssal plane is almost fully composed it along with every other type of sense element, at least according to what a few of my skills say in their description and a few books I've found over the years. That's why so many people make contracts for abyssals, much to those same people's detriment. Their kind can learn about almost anything. Also, while sense elements are rare, their not so rare as to be Impossible to find.”

“What made you resonate with that then, if it’s so unorthodox and uncommon.”

“To me it just made sense. I wanted to see more around me, to have all the information I could need at my fingertips. I wouldn’t allow myself to miss anything ever again…” He says solemnly while trailing off slightly at the end.

“What do you mean? Did you miss something important?”

He sighs lightly and says,

“I’ll tell you some other time kid. For now though, walk me through your game plan to take care of these goblins why don’t ya.”

“It’s nothing crazy. After all, how hard could some damn goblins be?”

“Kid, you never learn do you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Nevermind…”